Police are advising parents

to keep a closer eye on children waiting on bus stops after reports of

a suspicious person trying to talk to a girl waiting alone for the bus

on two different occasions in three months.

"We're also suggesting

kids not go to the bus stop alone because there's safety in numbers,"

said Lt. Beverly Trainor of the Fayetteville Police Department.

In both cases, the man never

left his vehicle, a unknown model red four-door car, but he shouted at

the girls -�who ranged from middle school to early high school age

- in an attempt to get them to come closer and talk to him, Trainor

said. The vehicle was parked some distance away from the area the victims

were waiting alone, she added.

In both instances, the girls

did the right thing, Trainor said - they ran away to a safe place

and found an adult to tell about the incident.

"We were just so proud

those kids were smart enough not to go over there and not talk to him,

but to get an adult," Trainor said. "... They provided good

descriptions, too (of the suspect)."

The incidents took place at

two different bus stops, Trainor added.

It is not clear if the same

suspicious person was involved in both incidents, which happened at two

different bus stops in town, Trainor said. Although the physical descriptions

of the suspicious person were similar in some ways, they were different

in others, she added.

"We don't know what

this person's intentions were," Trainor said. "All we know

is that he tried to strike up a conversation. We're just planning

for the worst-case scenario."

Officers have stepped up bus

stop patrols but can't be everywhere, Trainor said, urging residents

to report suspicious activity in their neighborhood to police.

Trainor said police have noticed

a marked increase in the number of parents waiting with children at bus

stops and escorting their children to the bus stops.

The department also offers

a "Stranger Danger" program which they will teach to groups

upon request to warn children of the dangers of interacting with strangers.

"Anybody that asks, we'll

do that for them," Trainor said. The department also has pamphlets

on the subject and can help parents who want to bring up the topic with

their children but don't know how to ease into the subject, she added.

Officers have been working

with school officials to identify the locations of all bus stops and bus

routes, Trainor added.

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